15 Ways to Get Leads on Social Media (Marketer's Guide)

Having a hard time getting measurable results from your social media marketing?

Getting more fans, followers and engagement is important -- but if you aren’t putting any focus on lead generation, you're probably not getting the type of social media ROI you were expecting from your efforts.

It’s time to change that!

In this post, I'll show you 15 ways to get leads on social media using a combination of organic and paid tactics.

15 Ways to Get Leads on Social Media (Marketer's Guide)

Before getting started -- there are a few important details to consider

There are 3 things you'll need to sort out before you'll be able to effectively get leads on social media.

First, you will need to determine the type of lead you want to capture.

Depending on your business, you may want to choose one or both of the following:

Contact Form Submission -- this is a form on your website that asks visitors for their name and contact information so you can contact them about your products or services, schedule a sales call, setup an appointment, etc.

Email List Subscriber -- this is a form on your website that asks visitors for their name and email address so you can add them to your email list and send them regular updates, newsletters, promotions, etc.

Next, you will need a page dedicated to capturing your lead.

If your lead type is a contact form submission, you'll likely already have a page on your website where your contact form lives.

If not, be sure to create one. Make sure the page focuses the visitor on submitting that contact form or completing another business goal, like making a purchase.

This page has one purpose -- to capture your lead.

Don't make the mistake of cluttering this page with other links or info about your company. That way, the visitor won't be confused about what you want them to do.

If your lead type is an email list subscription -- you'll need a landing page (also referred to as a squeeze page) focused solely on capturing the visitor's name and email. Here's an example of one on Post Planner.

Note that most businesses get a higher conversion when requiring their visitor to fill out as few fields as possible. We suggest that you keep your form short. You can read more about that here on unbounce.

For example, maybe just ask for the visitor's name and email address.

Depending on your goals, you may want to qualify your leads by asking for more information or just capture their basic information.

There are always exceptions to the rule. If you go to download something from HubSpot's Marketing Resources Library, you'll see how they qualify leads.

In this particular case below -- the long form is appropriate since you're signing up to have someone from HubSpot contact you. The info on the form is relevant and the offer is high value.

The above squeeze page examples bring me to the 3rd thing you will need in order to to get leads on social media effectively -- a lead magnet.

Lead magnets (also called assets) are freebies that you offer your visitors in exchange for their contact info. Businesses use a variety of lead magnets -- including (but not limited to):

Discount code, promo code, or free shipping code for future purchases

Free ebook, report, or white paper

Free infographic, cheat sheet, checklist, or action guide

Free training series, email course, or webinar

Free contest, sweepstakes, or giveaway entry

Access to a free online tool or member's only info

The lead magnet works for both the contact form submission and email list subscriber lead types.

If you offer a lead magnet in exchange for a contact form submission, you'll deliver the lead magnet on your contact form thank you page.

If you offer a lead magnet in exchange for an email subscriber opt-in, you could deliver the lead magnet on your opt-in form thank you page or in the first email you send your new subscriber after they confirm their subscription.

While a lead magnet is not required, we highly recommend it since it's so much easier to promote on social media.

Think about it. Would you choose to give your name and email address to a business you've never heard of to join their weekly newsletter? Probably not.

But you might do it to get their free guide about how to boost conversions on Facebook.

Also, note that your lead magnet should be highly relevant to the product or service you're selling. Anyone can get people to digitally hand over their contact information to enter a sweepstakes for a free iPad.

But the only way you're going to ultimately convert those leads into customers is if you actually sell iPads or iPad accessories.

Let's recap...

Decide on the type of lead you want to capture (contact form submission or email list subscriber).

Create a dedicated page for the lead capture (contact form page or squeeze page).

Create a juicy lead magnet (freebie in exchange for your visitor's contact information).

Now, you're ready to become a lead generating ninja!

Let's start with Facebook -- then we'll cover Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn and even live streaming.

After reading this post, you'll be armed with 15 effective ways to get leads on social media.

How to Get Leads on Social Media with Facebook

Since Facebook is the top social network and has audiences interested in virtually everything -- you'll likely have the most success increasing your social media ROI there.

Check inside your Power Editor to see if you have the option to create lead generation ads in Power Editor.

This option will allow you to create ads that lead mobile audiences to mobile-friendly opt-in forms to capture the Facebook user's contact information.

The 2-part form asks you for your name and then for additional details such as your email, phone, zip code, and additional optional fields. Most will come pre-filled using the Facebook user's profile information.

If you're not using one of the current Facebook-approved CRM partners (Driftrock, Marketo, Maropost, or Sailthru) -- you will either need to manually export your leads or use third party services like LeadsBridge to get your leads delivered directly to other email marketing services or CRM platforms.

How to Get Leads on Social Media with Twitter

Note that since people can't click on this one, you'll need to add an easy to type URL in your image (which leads to your contact form or squeeze page).

7. Pin a tweet to the top of your profile

Similarly to Facebook, Twitter offers the option to pin a tweet to the top of your profile.

Just tweet a link to your contact form or squeeze page. Once your tweet posts, click on the three dots at the bottom right of your tweet and pin it to your profile.

8. Use Twitter ads

Twitter, like Facebook, offers two ad types that work perfectly for getting leads.

The website clicks or conversions will allow you to get your contact page or squeeze page link in front of your ideal audience -- while the 'Leads on Twitter' will allow you to capture leads directly on Twitter.

The 'Leads on Twitter' campaign is ideal in the sense that Twitter users can subscribe immediately from Twitter.

This means you won't lose anyone between the ad click and the submit button on your contact form or squeeze page.

The downside is that if you're not using one of the Twitter-approved CRM partners (Driftrock, Eloqua, ExactTarget, Infusionsoft, LoopFuse, MailChimp, Marketo, Pardot, Sailthru, Salesforce, or Silverpop), you'll have to download your leads manually and import them into your email marketing service or CRM.

I would avoid that if you're sending a lead magnet because you don’t want your new contact to have to wait for it.

How to Get Leads on Social Media with Instagram

9. Create exceptional visual posts

Since Instagram is the land of images and videos -- you'll need to create a great image or video to get people to your contact form or squeeze page.

Since links are not clickable in Instagram posts, be sure to either send people to your bio where they can find a clickable link to your contact form or squeeze page OR include an easy to type URL in your post.

Also, be sure to use hashtags. Relevant usage of hashtags on Instagram will get your post in front of more people! (and help you increase your social media ROI even more)

10. Use Instagram ads

Now that Instagram ads are available via the Facebook Ads Manager for most advertisers, definitely give them a try.

'Send people to your website' or 'Increase conversions on your website' will be the best campaigns to choose since they are compatible with Instagram placement.

This will allow you to reach your ideal audience with an Instagram post that comes complete with a clickable call to action button.

How to Get Leads on Social Media with Pinterest

If you've got a great marketing visual -- be sure to share it on Pinterest to get even more social media ROI in the following ways.

11. Pin it

Your best bet is to have a lead magnet with a great image that you can pin like these.

To make sure people who visit your Pinterest profile find them, create a board on your profile for your freebies, guides, etc.

Make sure your freebie board is near the top and your most downloaded items are on the cover!

12. Advertise your pin

One of the nice things about Promoted Pins is that they're hard to spot out in the wild. They look very native with only a 'Promoted by' above the advertiser's name.

With Pinterest, you have 2 campaign options. Sending traffic to your website will ensure you only get charged for clicks to your contact form or squeeze page as opposed to other engagement on Pinterest.

How to Get Leads on Social Media with LinkedIn

If you're targeting a professional audience -- you can utilize the following features within LinkedIn to get leads on social media.

13. Add links to your LinkedIn profile

LinkedIn offers a few different places within your professional profile to link out to your contact form or squeeze page.

In addition to the 3 links you can add to your Contact Info, you can also utilize the Publications and Projects sections to add direct links to your contact form or squeeze page -- ideally by promoting your lead magnets.

Then add your Publications and Projects in detail.

Once you've added your Publications and Projects, be sure to go to your profile settings and enable them as visible in your public profile.

14. Use LinkedIn ads

With LinkedIn, you have two options - Sponsored Updates and Text Ads. You can use both to create ads for your contact form or squeeze page that will reach your ideal audience.